Did the 2005's come with a cutoff switch for the passenger airbag? Anyone have any pictures of the switch?

 

Interesting question, but do you have some reason to suspect that they might? As far as I know, no MINI has this as an option (which is not to say that someone hasn't kludged one up themselves). Besides being illegal in the US, I'm guessing that it would be pretty much worthless in that even if you disabled the front airbag, there'd still be the side and seat bags to worry about.

But as a purely academic issue, I'm interested in hearing if anyone else knows about this.

 

The switch is an option in some foreign countries, so that a child carrier may be used in the front seat. This is possible because the side air bags are an option in some places. I do not believe that this option is available in U.S. spec cars.

 

Its legal here. I wonder if they can do that in the programming?

 

OK, I've looked into the issue a bit...and yes, it's legal...sort of. Turns out you need to get a govt. waiver to have the switch installed, and there are a number of conditions that impact whether or not you'd qualify for the waiver.

Here's what I found on a Yahoo insurance forum:
[font=arial][/font] Of course, this still doesn't say anything about whether this would be technically practical in a MINI with side and seat airbags (as is standard in US-spec MINIs).

 

The feature was posted back on the mini.com site when they announced the 2005 options back in April. This was along with other such features as side sun visor on the drivers side, chrono pak and so on.

Yes it is legal in the states, and many cars have them. My dad has a pickup truck with it on it as standard. The govt waiver is to disable the airbag, but some manufacturers include it as an OEM feature, especially in smaller cars and cars with just front seats (such as pickups) to enable adults to drive with an infant up front.

You can see the list of options at http://www.mini.com/com/en/model_ref...ge/content.jsp

Under all innovations in the lower right hand corner it says ISOFIX/air-bag cutoff switch. The text says:

"Easy front passenger airbag deactivation as a new option: now a child seat can also be fixed on the front passenger seat. Models: MINI One, MINI One D, MINI Cooper, MINI Cooper S"

 

Since there is no way to send a government exemption to the factory, this is most likely, for U.S. spec cars at least, a dealer installed option. Like a lot of these options, the dealer will probably know little about it, have never installed one, and won't really want to mess with it, since any kind of airbag problem puts them in real jeopardy insurance-wise. You will probably have to jump up and down and scream bloody murder to get any U.S. dealer to install one, and you will probably have to sign enough waivers to make your hand tired if you find one that will install it.


On the other hand, send pics if you succeed!

 

Dealers don't seem to want to install airbag cut off switches. My wife had a Jeep Wrangler, and qualified to have the drivers side airbag cut off switch installed, she found that a kit was available but could not get anybody to install the switch.

They were concerned with "liability" for disabling a safety devise, even though my wife had the approval of the NHTSA for the procedure. We got a couple of refusals in writing on service orders and our attorney told us to hold on to those because he felt they were setting themselves up for increased liability for not installing an approved and reccomended switch.

 

A friend of mine has a '03 MB C230 coupe and it has the passenger airbag cutoff switch as standard. (Not sure if it disables the passenger side airbags too, though.) Maybe it is gov't approved for vehicles with limited rear passenger space for car seats?

 

Yes every day I get up I stand up and clear my head. Then I remember how great our legal system is and how liabilty laws and attorneys are the best thing to protect me from me. I drop down on my knees and say a prayer that more of these weasels, I mean lawyer pass the bar or become legislators.


Our country was founded by a bunch of individualist that thought the people needed to be protected from big goverment not themselves. The Bill of Rights is actually a list of restrictions against goverment. They would be sick at the sacrifices they made and we squandered them. NO switch. No auto up windows.....


Deep breath.....Deap Breath...never miond, I forgot my meds. Maybe they should pass a law for that.

Paul

 

Lawyers are just like the police - when you need them, they are invaluable, and when you don't need them, they seem to be hassling you. On balance, things work better if people are afraid of getting sued if they screw you over.

 

OK, so it may be an option which you may or may not be able to get anyone to sell to you/install. But the basic question remains...why specifically do you want this? The MINI has pleanty enough room in the rear for child seats (the subject of innumerable threads on NAM), so unless you have a kid with a medical problem (see the post above), there's no reason to want to put your child seat in the front. So, why do you want to disable the airbag??

 

I didn't post the question about liability and the government. There are scores of factory cars sold in the States with this option delivered from the factory. We could make a whole list of them.

My question, if you see my post above, is that this option is clearly stated on the Mini website (see my link above), with a picture of it as well. It seems to come standard. I wanted to know if anyone has seen this option on their '05 or have heard about it.

I would like the option so I can put more kids in the car. I have three kids, of which two are in a car seat. The rear only has seatbelts for two, so I would like to put my older son, who is not in a car seat up front. Otherwise it is a worthless seat up front, if I can never put my smaller passengers in it.

 

I agree totally. I heard about this and asked my MA at New Country and he told me it would be highly unlikely to get it at this dealership. I have a daughter and Neice and Nephew I take out. I would love the option of shutting off the air bag. I just ranted because of the reasons, although availble, we will not betting this option.

I too would like a pic.



Paul

 

Fair enough. Thanks for the explanation. :smile:

I think that based on the responses to this thread AND the fact that no one here (from what I can tell at least) has ever seen this option installed, it's fair to say that it's unavailable for all practical purposes. Also, the MINI site has a infamous history of listing options/features that are not actually available. (e.g., I have a 2002 that doesn't have the emergency boot release...and despite many tries and complaints, no such thing actually exists as a retrofitted option for those cars that didn't get it at the factory. See also the long discussions about what is and is not a "dealer programmable" option. )

What's the front passenger seat good for when I'm hauling my 2 kids in the back? Well, sometimes my wife (when she'll consent to riding in the MINI). Sometimes the dog. But more often the groceries that won't fit in the boot and/or some of the kids' stuff...which also doesn't fit in the boot.

 

While it was a much touted feature by Mini International, it appears that MiniUSA will have this feature available. Again, due to safety concerns. I do not understand the safety concerns aspect, since numerous cars have this feature straight from the factory. It is a shame, since this would have been a nice feature, especially when carrying a smaller passenger up front.

On my soapbox, I thoroughly despise the fact that politicians make these types of decisions regarding safety devices. Especially when safety devices have a propensity to kill someone. While I will not argue that they can and do save lives, it is well documented that people of a certain proportion have a greater chance of dying than being saved by the airbag. I have an older cousin who is quite small and takes a risk every time he rides in the front seat of a car. This should not be. They should allow the individual to make the choice regarding this decision. There are waivers out there that you can get, but it would be much easier to balance the US budget than to get one approved, and installed. It is sad when I can purchase a gun legally and carry it on me much quicker and much easier than it is to disable a device that can kill people.

 

But have you seen this switch on any vehicle in the US that had something more than a jumpseat for a backseat? I was under the impression that DOT required such a switch specifically for a car seat when the vehicle lacked a backseat suitable for the safe installation of a car seat. That's why every pickup truck built in the last 4 years that I've ridden in (other than those of the 4 door variety) have such a switch.

Also every one of those switches that I've seen required a key to be inserted to work, you couldn't just hop in the car and flip a toggle to deactivate the airbag.

 

I'm with MINI USA. An airbag activation/deactivation switch is not an available factory option on USA spec MINI vehicles. If you need further assistance, please phone us at 866 ASK.MINI and mention Reference # 200424600273 so that we can help you more efficiently.